


The ClueFinders: Alibi in Ashes

by StarLynnder



Category: ClueFinders, Cluefinders (Video Games), Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarLynnder/pseuds/StarLynnder
Summary: The ClueFinders work together to get a falsely-accused-for-arson Joni Savage out of jail, and to find the REAL culprit before her and the gang's reputation is damaged forever!
Relationships: Joni Savage & Santiago Rivera
Kudos: 1





	1. Arson at the Old Town Hall!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ClueFinders work together to get a falsely-accused-for-arson Joni Savage out of jail, and to find the REAL culprit before her and the gang's reputation is damaged forever!

Joni’s skin tingled with excitement as she picked up the brochure on her desk. “It’s that time of the year again,” it read, “for The Clues Challenge! This year, the town medallion has been hidden in another location and teams of up to six may compete to find it by following a series of clues! Teams of seven or more people may compete but with a five-point penalty for every excess group member.”

Joni smirked. Those groups and cliques of giddy, giggly high school girls in big numbers who used to pick on her, exclude her, and speak ill of her on messaging group chats during her most crucial formative years won’t stand a chance against her and her REAL friends!

“And that’s not all. The team leader of the winning team may also add a personal item of his, her or their choice into the time capsule, which will be buried and later dug up again for the future generations to come. So come on, compete, and get a chance to send a message or special item far into the future!”

Joni beamed. This was not a challenge she and her friends, the ClueFinders, would pass off. She looked at the clues her friends had gathered, unscrambled and deciphered. So far so good, she thought. They were, they could sense, already in the lead. If they keep their progress up, they would find that medallion and win the challenge and be hailed heroes of the town in no time!

Joni then looked at the small piece of paper someone sent her. It looked like an anagram where the letters of the original message have been scrambled up into a new odd message. It read: “Setting: Storage Room. Action: Tom the Star in the Holdnot Wall”. Joni managed to unscramble it to understand this new clue: to check out the Thermostat in the Old Town Hall. Okay, that’s where she’s headed to next, then!

It was a sunny day out, no clouds in the sky, Joni observed as she left her porch, slinging her backpack on. The perfect day for some clue-hunting to win the Clues Challenge, or some Clue-Finding. Yeap, that suited her team better. Her team had been aptly named “Team ClueFinders” and she was (naturally) appointed as team leader. As she made her way down to the Old Town Hall which was on Anvil Street, Joni began to wonder what item in her possession would be valuable, unique, special, or useful enough to be put into and buried with the time capsule, and who would be fortunate enough to find and open it, how far later into the future.

She arrived by bicycle at the Old Town Hall. All of the ClueFinders (excluding Laptrap, who can fly) have just recently gotten their driver’s license, excluding Owen, who prefers to skateboard. Each of them have their own bicycle, except they decide to take public transport. When travelling to places and cases together, the team usually go by bus or train or carriage or plane. But it’s also nice to have bicycles just in case they need to, y’know, travel individually.

Joni entered the old, abandoned building. It was as deserted as it looked on the outside. She made her way to the room with a thermostat. There was a fire alarm next to the door on one side, and a display of a piece of iron nugget on the other. As she opened the door, she heard a strange ticking sound. She stepped forward, looking for where the source of the sound could be. She then noticed that there was a strange snowflake-shaped ice cube on the thermostat. As she stepped closer to examine it, the ticking stopped and the ice cube, along with the thermostat, burst into flames and a fire sparked and spread through the entire building in seconds.

It all happened so quickly. Joni couldn’t even get her mind to access the situation before black smoke began entering her lungs and making her cough and hack like crazy. She knew one thing: she had to get out of there! 

Joni banged on the door. Oh no, it was locked shut! She could not scream for help as the building was deserted. The only way out seemed to be a small opening at the top of the door. Quickly looking around, she saw some old times by the door: a few shelves, some buckets, books, and some stools. Quickly, she piled them up so that they formed a ladder to the opening of the door, and she climbed up the pile and made her way out.

Coughing badly, Joni stayed low and crawled her way out of the building, careful to not touch or open any doors where the fire was burning behind. Outside, fresh air entered her lungs, and she coughed some more to clear out the remnants of black smoke still inside her system.

Alexei Markovic, Toni Scallari, Deidre Shannon and Brenda Carlton all stood there, staring at her with their mouths hanging open. Witnesses, Joni thought. Or suspects? Brenda, the Heights Nine news channel reporter, wasted no time. She shoved her microphone into Joni’s face and began asking her a slew of crude questions.

“Joni Savage, what made you decide to burn down Town Hall?”

“Me? I —”, Joni tried to defend herself.

“Is it because you think popularity with the ClueFinders has been dropping in this town?”

“I didn’t do it!” the Team Leader managed to say. This is ridiculous!

“Was this politically motivated?” 

“Of course not! I would never —”

“Hey, BACK OFF!” A gruff voice from behind the interviewer and the interviewee said. It was Chief McGinnis, the chief police officer of River Heights. When Brenda didn’t budge, he barked again. “I said BACK OFF! No press until we take statements.” Brenda just huffed and folded her arms and walked away. 

The fire department had arrived and was working hard to put out the fire. Chief McGinnis pulled Joni aside from the other witnesses and began asking her a new round of questions. 

“State your name for the record,” he ordered.

“Joni Savage,” she complied.

“Where were you when the fire broke out?”

“I was in the room where the fire started.”

“What were you doing in there?”

“I was following a lead for the Clues Challenge.” Some lead. It almost had her killed!

“Is there anything strange with the way the fire was burning.”

“Yes,” Joni nodded. “The fire managed to spread through the whole building in a matter of seconds.”

“What was the colour of the smoke?”

“Black.” She coughed. “Can’t forget that. I inhaled some of it, too!”

The chief went on. “Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary?”

“Yes. There was a snowflake-shaped ice cube on the thermostat.” Joni decided she was going to look into this.

“Did you see anyone else at the scene before emergency crews arrived?”

“Yes. Alexei Markovic, Toni Scallari, Deidre Shannon and Brenda Carlton.”

“Do you believe someone had intentionally started the fire? If so, who?”

“It was *cough* whoever that had sent me the note — the clue to the Clues Challenge!” Joni was sure it had been a false lead by now. She better tell her friends the next day.


	2. Guilty! Or Not?

Joni couldn’t sleep for almost the whole night. The news that flashed on her TV screen that very same night blamed her for the fiery destruction or the arson of River Heights’ beloved town hall. Brenda Carlton, the reporter, was on a roll. Joni couldn’t believe it. She went from Team Leader of the young heroes who had helped solve crime in their beloved city to a delinquent who committed a crime because of…… because of something she didn’t do.

Her phone rang. She was very sleepy but she picked it up anyway. It was Santiago Rivera, concerned and worried for his best friend and fellow ClueFinder.

“Hey, Joni. How are you?”

“Fine,” she merely answered. “Sleepy but fine.”

“I still can’t believe you made it out alive, Jonsey. You could have been really hurt.” The anxiety in his voice was adamant. 

“Yeah, and now the whole town hates me because of something I didn’t do. How are Owen, Leslie and Laptrap holding up?”

“They’ve been worried about you, too. In fact, the first thing they made me do when I set foot into the clubhouse was to use the red video phone to call you.” 

“Aww, that’s great.” Joni felt grateful. “You know, I don’t think Chief McGinnis is gonna let me off that easily. He interviewed me last night and, I think, he considers me a suspect. I really hope he doesn’t —” 

Just then there was some banging on Joni’s door, and seconds later the sounds of a few sirens blasted from the outside into the windows and into her bedroom. Joni nearly dropped her phone. “Oh, no……”

She went and opened the front door. Chief McGinnis was there, arms folded, glaring at her.

“J-Joni……,” he began, “my hands are tied right here.” He almost teared up, but he wasn’t going to let Joni see it.

“What do you mean, Chief? I……”

“Joni Savage. You are under arrest for an arson case connected to the fire at Old Town Hall. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be used against you in court. You have the right to speak with an attorney……”

As Chief McGinnis spoke, several policemen went up to Joni and handcuffed her from behind. One of them grabbed Joni’s phone out of her hands and tossed it onto the floor. Joni could still hear Santiago’s voice coming out of the phone. “Joni? What’s happening? Is something going on? Hello? Hello?” But Joni could not answer. The policemen carted her into one of their cars and drove off to the police station.

In a holding cell, Joni was told that she could make one call. She quickly wrote down the numbers of all her ClueFinder friends, her uncle’s and her parents on a piece of scrap paper by the jail’s landline. She decided to call her parents first. 

“Um, mom? Dad? Hi, this is Joni. I’m in jail. I can explain.” She swallowed. “I was following a lead for the Clues Challenge, y’know, that challenge that I love to play with my friends every year? Yeah, that. So I was following a lead or a clue to where the medallion could be, and it told me to go look into the thermostat in a room in the Old Town Hall in River Heights. And when I got there it just…… burst into flames. Don’t freak out, okay? I’m fine. I managed to get out without a scratch. Just a bit of smoke damage but that’s all. I’m fine, I promise. But now I’m in jail — they think I set the Town Hall on fire. I don’t know what to do next. But if you get this message please don’t freak out. You don’t have to book the next flight home. I believe this is one of the cases where I must admit that I might need a little help from you. I love you, okay? I’ll call you again as soon as I’m allowed to. Take care!”

By the end of the call, Joni was holding back tears. But what the heck. She looked around. She was the only one in the jail cell. So she let them flow, with no witnesses. She felt totally weak and helpless, totally unlike the Joni Savage everyone else knew. I’m sorry, mom and dad, she thought. I got myself into some serious trouble this time. I am really sorry.

After letting herself weep a little, Joni decided to call her uncle next. She repeated the same story to him, relieving all the emotions again, and wished him the best of luck on his research expedition in Numeria, and hoped that Mathra would not bother him or his team out there again.

Then she decided to call her friends. She dialed their numbers, starting with Owen’s. 

“Hey, yo, Joni! What’s going on? Santiago said you didn’t get to finish the conversation with him earlier. And he heard sirens and banging on the door. What’s up over there?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing,” Joni sniffed. “Chief McGinnis just came over and arrested me and brought me into this here jail cell. I’m gonna be fine, I promise.” 

“What…… Did I hear you right, Joni? ‘Cause I think I just heard you say you were put into a jail cell. Don’t tell me you’re—”

“Yes, Owen,” Joni cut him off. “I’m in jail.”

Owen caught his breath. “I…… We….. Oh, no. What do we do without you, Joni?”

“I’ll figure it out, with you guys, okay?” she said gently. “Are you all still at the clubhouse?”

“N-no, not anymore,” Owen explained. “Santiago decided to watch over your house since, well, he thought…… never mind, you’re in jail anyway, so I might as well just say it. Santiago thought they were gonna take you away so he offered to stay behind to watch over your house until you’re clear to come back again.”

“That’s sweet of him,” Joni said.

“Yeah, and Leslie had some classes to teach this afternoon so here I am at the club, all alone. With Laptrap to keep me company, at least.”

Joni could hear the Turbo T.U.R.T.L.E.’s circuits buzzing in the background. Laptrap was barking orders at Joni through Owen’s phone. “...... and remember your rights, Joni. You have a right to a lawyer. And if they treat you badly, let ‘em know! Let ‘em have it! I can’t believe it. Of all the criminals in the world they had to believe our Joni would be one of them……” Laptrap’s voice was getting softer and further away. Owen must be pushing him away or getting away from him to talk to Joni peacefully.

“Yo, Jonsey. We’ll do anything to get you outta there. Cool?”

“As ice, Owen. I know I can’t get out of this by myself now. Look, I’m gonna call Leslie, okay? See what she has to say.”

“Coolio, Joni. I think her classes should be over by now. Tell me what she said, okay?”

“Okay. See you soon.” And Joni put the phone down and dialed Leslie’s number.

“Joni!” The brainiest of the team picked up. “How are you? What’s going on?”

“Hey, Leslie. Finished teaching your classes yet?” Joni asked casually as if it were another sunny Sunday. She felt calm, now that the worst — the fire — was over.

“Yeah, I just got done teaching my students about the difference between Cultural Appreciation and Cultural Appropriation. How are you doing, Joni?”

“Doing okay so far. They put me in jail. But I’m gonna get out of here.” Joni could feel some of her old, fiery, determined self returning. “I just need to prove to them that I did not start the fire.”

“You can do it, Joni,” Leslie cheered her on. “If you need help with anything, you just call. We’re here for you.”

“Thanks, Leslie. You and the ClueFinders have never let me down before. Do you have any ideas on what I can do on my end?”

“Uh, as a matter of fact, I do. On all our ends. You know that journal app we used to share clues and messages with one another for the Clues Challenge?”

“The program Santiago installed onto our phones?”

“Yeah. We can use it to share information and stay up-to-date with the case and how you’re doing. How about that?” 

“That’s a great idea, Leslie. I’ll call you back as soon as I can, okay? I have to reach out to Santiago now. Be sure to update the journal with what I said so that everyone knows about it.”

“Alright, Joni. Good luck out there, okay?”

“I’ll be careful, promise.” And Joni hung up and dialled Santiago, finally.

His voice was like warm sweet tea in the middle of a cold, cold winter. So soothing. Joni could never get enough of hearing it now that she’s in this mess. “Joni! I tried to call you again but couldn’t pick up. Did they take your phone away from you, too? Owen called and told me the cops came to your house and took you away.”

“Yeah, they did,” Joni confirmed. “They took my clothes away too and made me wear this,” she looked down at herself, “ugly prison uniform.” Joni decided that even though they were almost the same shade of red-orange, the uniform will never complement or match her fiery red hair. Not one bit. “And that’s a problem.”

“Why?” 

“Because, as I remember, my clothes still smell of the gasoline that came from mowing the lawn yesterday. And gasoline is an accelerant, y’know, whatever that makes a fire spread faster?”

“Uh-huh?”

“They probably think it makes me a suspect to have an accelerant on my clothing.”

“Oh, Joni. But you’re innocent, and we know that!”

“I know,” Joni sniffled. “We just need to make them believe that, too.”

“Aww, Joni,” Santiago said in his endearing, sympathetic way. “Anything I can do to help you?”

Just then Joni remembered the note or the so-called clue that led her to the Old Town Hall in the first place. “There is. I received a note telling me to go to the Town Hall before it burst into flames. We don’t know who sent me the note, but if you can find it and bring it back to the police station, that’s…… something I can do with your help. It must have fallen out of my pocket while I was escaping the fire. If you can find it around Old Town Hall somehow that’d be great.”

“I’m on it.”

“Don’t get caught, okay? Chief McGinnis and his men are still staking out the Town Hall. Enter through a back or side door or something.”

“Got it, Joni. Anything else?”

“Yeah, uh, Santiago. I… er……”

“Mhmm?”

“I…… I miss you. And the other ClueFinders. And my mom and my dad. And Jupiter, my pet anaconda. Are you taking good care of her?”

“Yep, I’m feeding her well. Not the first time I’ve dealt with snakes, honestly. She misses you something bad, too. Right, Jupi?” Joni could hear hissing in the background, as if Jupiter’s answering back with a “yes”.

“Good luck, okay, Santiago? You can take over the case for now. Go find that note. Bring it here and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Got it. Talk to you soon, Jonsey.” Santiago made a thumbs up and hung up. Then he put on his best jacket and tightened his shoelaces and headed out of Joni’s home.

Joni was going to tell him “I love you” over the phone. But she decided it’s better to say it when she’s NOT in a jail cell, talking over the jail landline, and wearing an ugly orange prison uniform that does NOT complement or match her hair at all. Not one bit.


	3. Out of Jail, Sort Of.

Santiago cycled over and parked his bike by the antique shop. As he browsed the area, he noticed a newspaper clipping stuck onto the outside of the shop. It was the front page of the latest issue of Crime Weekly. It talked about the Arson that happened to the beloved Old Town Hall and showed a picture of it, burned, and with yellow police tape all over the front entrance. It also announced the rescheduling of the River Heights Historical Society’s Time Capsule Extravaganza talk from Thursday 2pm to Saturday 11.30 am due to electrical problems. The venue has been changed to the conference hall in Claymore Hall.

Santiago then cycled to the Old Town Hall. It was indeed as badly burned as the Crime Weekly picture suggested. No note in sight, but lots of police surveying the area. He circled around the perimeter of the burnt building as quietly and as nonchalantly as possible, even whistling a tune to prove the nonchalant part to the cops. He kept an eye open for anything that looked like a burned fake clue-note aaaaaaaaand he found it! Right back at the starting point of the circle. Ufff. But at least he found it. In front of the building by the porch, it was. So he picked it up and drove to the police station and dropped it off to Joni via the Package Drop vent on the front of the station.

Then he called Joni, informed her of the package drop, and passed the case over to her.

As Joni hung up, a loud buzzer sound rang throughout the police station. The door to the jail opened.

“Look, Joni,” Chief McGinnis told her from the outside. “I’m just doing my job here. If you’re gonna prove your innocence, be my guest and I don’t see a reason to keep you locked up, so there.”

“Phew. Thanks, Chief,” Joni sighed. 

“But remember, Savage. This is a police station. Don’t let me catch ya messin’ around with the stuff in here, ya get it? Don’t let me catch ya.”

“ *Gulp!* Okay, Chief.” And Joni was let out of the cell.

“One more thing.” The Chief led her over to a mounting board at the far side of the office. “This here is an evidence board we use to compile evidence on all pur suspects in a case. You got any compiling evidence you can pin onto someone, feel free to pin it. You got enough evidence to pin this crime onto someone else, ya give me a buzz and I’ll go check. Make sure you pin the correct evidence to the correct suspect.” 

“Okay, Chief.”

“You’re not allowed to leave the station until you can pin this onto someone else, compellingly. Got it?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Good. Now get to work.” And McGinnis left for his office.

Joni took a look at the evidence board. The police have narrowed it down to four suspects: Alexei Markovic, Deidre Shannon, Toni Scallari and Brenda Carlton — all the people she had seen right after she burst out of the flaming building. Photos of the suspects and their names were pinned onto the upper left corner of each section of the board. A photo of herself, too, taken today after she was arrested, was pinned on the upper left corner of her section. 

“It would be nice if they had focused on any other suspects OTHER than me,” she mused to herself. What an unfair world she lived in!

The first thing Joni did once she was let out of the prison was to collect Santiago’s package drop — the anagram clue-note that led her to the Old Town Hall in the first place — and pinned it onto the “New Evidence” section of the board. She did not know who left that note for her yet, and whose section to pin it onto, so she decided to leave it there.

Then Joni decided to explore the Forensics Department of the station, which was in another room. As long as she didn’t touch anything it was okay, right? She went over to the state-of-the-art gas chromatograph machine on one of the desks. Nothing to put in there yet. Plus, she needed a thin glass vial or test tube of some sort first. Her friends can find one of those things and send it to her via the Package Drop. No problem. Nothing too obscure to obtain in a small town like River Heights!

Joni decided there was nothing much else of interest to see in this department, and left the room. She turned and was happy to see, on a table, a care package her Uncle Horace had sent to her at the station from the deep rainforests of Numeria. She opened the box and it was chock full of her favourite snacks. Inside was also a note, and it read:

“I’m coming home from Numeria. Just what were they thinking to arrest you, the leader of a group of heroes of River Heights?! You’re gonna need all the energy you can get to crack this case. Here, have some of my favourite Bacon Crunchies. It’s not much ‘cause I’ve had a few bags myself already throughout this expedition but I'm going to give the rest up for you. I’ll be home soon. Hang in there, Joni. I know you can power through this one!”

Joni sighed happily. Uncle Horace always knew how to make her happy. She found herself needing him again, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

She decided to pass the time a little by reading a little book titled Investigating Arson next to her care package. The bookmarked page talked about what authorities and investigators should do at the scene of the fire (after it’s been put out), and after the fire (about a day after it’s been put out).

There was a little computer with the RHPD (River Heights Police Department) logo on it, next to the Arson book and Joni’s care package. Joni tried it (making sure she was not watched by another cop). It was password protected. “The password must be around in this station somewhere,” she figured. She looked around. Some lockers with numbers were behind and in between two desks with name cards on them. Locker 205 is locked while the rest have only junk inside them. “I’ll need to find the key.” 

Joni went on to snoop on other police officers’ desks (without getting caught!). D.K. Daughters had a media player on his/her/their desk but it had no media card in it. Another thing to find, great. Joni decided to go ask Chief McGinnis if she could borrow a key to the locker (hey, as long as she’s asking for permission to use things in the station it’s okay, right?).

But, approaching the Chief’s personal office door, she realised she didn’t need to ask. The Chief was yelling into his phone at some rookie detective who had lost one of the keys to the evidence locker.

“So you’re calling to tell me you’ve lost one of our keys to the evidence locker? That’s some nice police work there, rookie. Where did you last see it? Pancake City? I don’t recall Pancake City being part of your routine turf. Is there a lot of crime in Pancake City lately? I’m glad to hear that you’ve been keeping the mean streets of Pancake City crime-free!”

Jobi gulped as she listened in. This must be a relatively traumatising experience for Detective Ryan. Poor Ryan.

“No, it does NOT make me less angry to hear that you’re embarrassed!” The Chief growled. “You’re gonna have to turn Pancake City upside-down, inside-out until you find that key, ya hear me? Flip it over if you have to. No. No, no, no. You did NOT just ask me if I made a pun. Do I make puns when I am angry? No. When I am angry, I ask rhetorical questions and fire rookie detectives.”

Reeeeeeeeeeally traumatising. Poor Ryan.

Joni had an idea. She went back into the jail cell and dialed Owen. Then she sent him on a mission to find that key before it fries in the oven of Pancake City.


	4. Joni's House

Owen was at Joni’s house, helping Santiago help Joni to look after her turf and her pet anaconda Jupiter. Owen didn’t like being on his own while his friends had work to do, so he decided to pay Santiago a visit and help him do whatever work he had to do.

As Santiago poured food into Jupiter’s glass case, Owen decided to read the newspaper in the living room. Hey, other than helping Santiago when he needs help, there was nothing much to do. So yes, Hipster-Skateboarding Boy is reading the newspaper. The paper talked about the Arson case with Joni and how some viewers either denied she did it or blamed her for doing it. And in the “On the Brighter Side” section, the people of River Heights found it easier to stick to their diets when Scoop, the ice cream shop, closed unexpectedly yesterday and reopened at 2pm today and of course, the ice cream lovers were NOT happy about it. Owen groaned at the thought of his most favourite ice cream place in the world closing down just on the day he decided to get some ice cream.

“Hey, Owen. I hate to see you so bored. Didn’t Joni ask you to do something?”

“Uh, yeah. She did. But…… I think I should catch up on the news first. Get this: some people, just like that reporter on the Heights Nine News this morning, are painting her as the bad guy!”

“People can say what they want on the news. What’s important is that we know the truth, and have faith that Joni will prove them wrong.”

“And we help her prove them wrong whenever we can!” Owen remembered what he had to do. Looking at the shared journal app the team used for the Clues Challenge, yup, that was it.

But before he stepped out the door to find that key in Pancake City, Owen decided to explore Joni’s house first to see if there’s anything he or the team could find and use that may further help Joni. He went up to the study area on the second floor. 

The study was not really a room, but an area co-joining Joni’s room with the stairs. It made a nice reading area with a desk, shelves and open windows where sunlight can pour directly through. And when there was no sunlight, a lamp on the desk did the trick. A book on the shelf in the study stood out to Owen as he looked around. He pulled it out, flipped through the pages, and realised it was a scrapbook full of photographs of the students from his baking class last summer where he taught them how to bake and decorate cakes. The students were posing with their works and creations that looked so lovely delicious but one just didn't have the heart to eat them and ruin the decorations. The photos were printed out from the baking school’s website and Joni had precisely printed out the photos that Owen’s master teachings had managed to whip out.

“I can’t believe Joni would keep a scrapbook on this!” Owen laughed. “I should teach more classes like this. School’s not so bad after all when you know what you’re teaching, or studying.” Owen wondered if he could try asking Leslie if she could use some assistance in some of her classes. But none of the subjects she was teaching were his “jam” or his “groove” as he would say, and he and Leslie would probably spend so much time bickering on how to teach the lesson and what to include in it that the students would probably end up not learning anything at all, and they would probably get fired from that school (yikes).

He put the scrapbook back and looked at a frame picture on the shelf. It was a picture of the ClueFinders, taken at Shadow Ranch, a place that had a mystery of its own. Ah, memories. Owen was nearly deciding to keep a scrapbook of his own, and this picture — he would ask Joni if he could make a copy of it — would be the first thing he would paste into it.

Next to the scrapbook and the photo was a news clipping of how the ClueFinders busted and uncovered an Antiquities Exhibit to be a fraud. Owen will paste that into his scrapbook, too, if Joni allows.

Then Owen headed into Joni’s room. He hated the idea of poking around in his friend’s room while she’s not home, but he really needed to see if there’s anything in her room that may help get her out of jail. 

The bedroom was neat and tidy. Owen hated to think that the police with their dirty boots stormed in here to arrest a girl with a clean criminal record as spotless as her room (he was thankful that they did not need to enter Joni’s room to find her). He looked around and opened a tall cabinet by the bathroom. It contained memorabilia from all the ClueFinders’ past cases, including snagnets, beetle bags, sneezeberries, and some Cairoglyphs. Now of course those things that are thicker than a piece of cardboard won’t be able to fit into a scrapbook. A (locked) nightstand in front of Joni’s bed had a book titled On The Case on it and, what’s this, a photo of Santiago and ONLY Santiago? 

Owen flipped the picture. There was a hidden note attached to the back of the frame with cellotape. He removed the note and gave it a read:

“Dear Santiago,   
Here’s a case for YOU to solve! There’s this cute Hispanic boy who has stolen my heart. He has shiny jet black hair, dark twinkling eyes, and a smile and a laugh that makes my heart jump out of my chest. He doesn’t know this, but when we’re apart the clocks tick on by with a maddening slowness that just drives me crazy! I can’t wait for the next moment he will return to my side, ready as ever to solve another case with me and the rest of the gang.

I’m sure you’ll solve this one in no time! 

Love, Joni.”

“Ooooooooooh,” was all Owen could say.

So much for not poking around Joni’s room and into her stuff. Oh well. Owen decided that neither Santiago or Joni shall know what he found until Joni is out of jail.

Owen decided to read that book on the nightstand. He took note of the terms and terminologies highlighted in one column on a page: Incendiary, Fire Triangle, Accelerant, Point of Origin and Alibi. Owen then wondered what Joni could be keeping locked up inside her nightstand, under the book (more secret messages to Santiago, maybe?).

At Joni’s working desk, Owen saw a Case File containing clues from the Clues Challenge, a Scrapbook of past cases (he seriously needs to get some scrapbook-and-memory-keeping tips from Joni!), a to-do list with some tasks crossed out, and a shopping list with ALL items crossed out (good on Joni for always being so productive. Everything is an adventure to her, even if it’s just driving to the River Heights Mall to stock up on groceries or stationery and the like). Owen opened a drawer and found a notebook with notes on how to pick notes. Pulling out his phone camera, he snapped a picture of the notes as they might come in handy later.

Owen decided he had done enough poking around. “Time to get onto the case.” He bid Santiago goodbye and skated from Joni’s house to Pancake City. The owner of the restaurant told him Detective Ryan went to Mabel Rose’s, another shop in River Heights. So Owen skated there. And the owner of the shop told Owen that the rookie was headed to the Antiques Store. So off he went. 

Alexei Markovic owned the store. He greeted Owen warmly as he entered. Upon the sight of all those antiques, Owen instinctively kept his arms by his side. He decided he was not going to risk losing all his life savings by breaking anything important in here, especially since he knows he is the clumsiest of the ClueFinders. NOT a good thing to bring into an antiques shop, he decided.

Thankfully he didn’t break anything. He did manage to find the key to the police Evidence Locker 205, though, in the store’s New Arrivals shelf, hidden inside one of the objects there. Pushing a few buttons to get the metal bars to slide inwards and open the lid did the trick. 

He also found a free glass vial (which he pocketed immediately) and won another small key by playing a game where the player has to push the numbers one to 41, in sequence, in as little time as possible. He got first place in one minute and 18 seconds. “Alright!” And a small compartment of the game box opened and revealed a little key.

The fourth thing he found was a fire alarm key by a large chest near Alexei. Owen managed to pocket it without Alexei looking. Stealing is not good, Owen knows. But the more evidence they could find to get Joni out, the better.

Then Owen thanked Alexei, left the shop (and heaved a huge sigh of relief because he managed to not break anything) and went to drop off the locker key and fire alarm key to Joni.


	5. Uncovering Evidence

“Soooo, what you’re saying is, you can use the equipment in the station as long as you don’t get caught?”

“Yes, Owen. I have to, but I reeeeeeally don’t wanna get on McGinnis’s bad side.”

“Yikes.” Owen didn’t want to either. “I just don’t understand why they won’t just let you out?”

“Owen……,” Joni calmly explained over the phone, “all the evidence seems to be stacked against me now. They just need a little proof that I didn’t burn down Old Town Hall.”

“Still, this doesn’t seem fair. Not to you, at least.”

“Sigh. Trust me, I’m with you on that one.”

“Yeah. But okay. So, like, how’s it like being in the fire? Were you scared?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Joni was not used to openly expressing fear. But this is Owen, one of her best friends, and fires are scary, so yeah, it’s alright. “Everything just happened so fast. The fire spread to the entire building in a matter of seconds. I’m glad to be out alive.”

“From what we’re hearing on TV and reading in the news, yeah, you should be.”

“And I never thought I'd be saying this but until we catch this arsonist the station might be the safest place for me. Really.”

“Does that mean the rest of us are not safe out here?”

“Whoever this arsonist is, they seem pretty impediment on targeting me and framing me for it. I hope they don’t target anyone else.”

“Then we won’t rest until the REAL arsonist is behind bars. Because who knows, they may decide getting you locked behind bars isn’t enough fun.”

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll take the case from here. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Joni!” CLICK!

Joni pinned the fire alarm keys on Alexei Markovic’s section of the board, and used the key Owen gave her to open the evidence locker. In the bottom section of the locker she found her phone (yessss!), house keys and lock picking kit. In the top section of the drawer she found the RHPD computer password, a media card on the Town Hall Fire Questioning, and instructions on how to open the middle section of the locker.

Joni unlocked the middle section and found more documents on the fire and on her arrest. Here’s the gist of it: the cops really did find gasoline on her clothes (shucks), her bail was $250,000, it was Toni Scallari who called to report the fire, and the fire alarm was malfunctioning in Town Hall that day for some unknown reason.

Joni’s head spun as she processed all this information. $250,000?! None of the ClueFinders have that amount added together at the moment. She should have changed her clothes before going clue-hunting for the Clues Challenge yesterday, and Toni? If it’s true with what she had read in Investigating Arson — that arsonists sometimes call to report their own fire to throw suspicion off themselves — does that mean Toni did it?

Why would a councilwoman running for town mayor burn down Town Hall? What does she stand to gain? If people found out, wouldn’t that drop her political ratings, votes, and other numbers that reflect public favour?

All these Joni would figure out later. She decided to play that media card and listen to what all witnesses had to say about the fire. She inserted the media card into the player on D. K. Daughters’s desk and pressed play.

She listened to her own interview first. Her voice sounded funny on tape, but she didn’t care. She remembered how she answered each of Chief McGinnis’s questions as if the fire was just yesterday.

She listened to the other suspects next. Alexei Marckovic seemed calm and steady in his responses. Toni Scallari was out on political and campaigning duty when the fire broke out. Deidre Shannon seemed a little…… unsettled and even told Chief McGinnis that the thing that she noticed out of the ordinary was that it took a very long time for the fire department to arrive. McGinnis scolded and silenced her. Brenda Carlton, the last witness, was, just like on the news, quick to blame Joni for the fire. She stated that “if you have Joni Savage walking out of the building looking guilty, I say you have your culprit right there.” Thanks, Brenda.

This Brenda really seemed impediment that Joni is the arsonist. Joni wondered if Brenda herself was guilty instead.


	6. The Scoop on the Fire

Leslie Clarke was at Scoop, the ice cream store, with Laptrap when Joni called. She had just finished preparing some slides for her next lesson and had decided to take a break by eating some tidbits to help cool down her overheated brain. 

Joni needed Leslie to get a sample of the accelerant used to start the fire from the point of origin, as in, the starting point of the fire in the Old Town Hall. Leslie agreed to the task and hung up.

Laptrap then advised Leslie not to eat too much ice cream to avoid brain freeze but Leslie insisted on having something for her cover — to pretend she was just eating ice cream while staking out and observing the suspect nearest to her, at the next table: Deidre Shannon.

Leslie decided to leave her post and go straight up to the suspect to talk to her.

“Hello, Deedee,” Leslie greeted.

Deidre looked up annoyedly. “It’s ‘Dear-druh’. Dear-druh Shannon. I know it’s got that tricky second syllable, but I mastered it since I was two. Don’t worry, keep trying, you’ll get it,” Joni’s biggest rival said with the sweetest fake smile.

“Where were you during the fire?” Leslie went for it.

“Oh, are you investigating me? You two are cute. You can’t make me talk. I know my rights.”

Well, you’re gonna talk anyway, Leslie decided. “Would you say you hated the Old Town Hall?”

“You just won’t stop, would you? I did NOT start the fire.”

Okay, Deedee. Dear-druh. It’s not difficult to say, but —

“And if you’re gonna talk to me, you better get my name right.”

“Okay.”

Leslie risked blowing her cover with such direct questions, but hey, when you’re trying to get a friend out of jail, sometimes offense is the best defense.

“Why are you always trying to bring Joni down, if I may ask, Dear-druh?”

At the mention of Joni’s name, Deidre rolled her eyes. “Ugh, she’s just so perfect! My parents are always comparing me to her. It gets…… old, y’know.”

“Comparing like?”

“Comparing like ‘Hey, why can’t you be more like that Savage girl and her friends? They’re in Whateveristan and just saved the blah-blah-blah from the who cares? Like I wouldn’t love to travel the globe and solve mysteries and get curses put on me and meet cute people?”

“Ummm…… yes?” It is a nice life being a ClueFinder, Leslie must admit. 

“That was a rhetorical question, but thanks for playing along,” Deidre said as she inspected her manicure.

“You seem pretty happy now that one of us is in jail,” Laptrap had to note, floating next to Leslie’s head.

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m surprised you’re not like, sending flowers to the police station or something.”

“This isn’t a funeral.”

“No, but if you don’t feed and bathe and clothe her in there or something she might like, die, y’know?”

“Looks like that is all we are going to get from her: insults about Joni or the rest of us,” Laptrap whispered, or buzzed, into Leslie’s ear. Leslie agreed, and went inside Scoop.

Leslie greeted the owner of the store, Toni Scallari, who was also running for the position of mayor in River Heights. She asked Toni, according to the newspaper she had read this morning, why she had to close shop suddenly yesterday.”

“Oh, it’s not good, Leslie,” the councilwoman replied. “I had to let the staff go.”

“Bad economy again, huh?” Laptrap remarked. 

“I’m sure it will pick up,” Leslie hoped.

“Thank you, Leslie. But I’m not worried about that right now. I’m more worried about you. I heard your friend got locked up today. How are you holding up?”

Almost simultaneously, Leslie and Laptrap blurted out, “She didn’t burn down Town Hall. She didn’t do it, really.”

But Toni still thinks Joni did it. “It’s nice that you’re trying to stick up for her. I don’t blame you for feeling upset and I wasn’t trying to upset you. You should be careful about who you stick your neck out for.”

“Joni wouldn’t do anything like that! Or would she?”

“LAPTRAP!”

“Okay, okay, I believe you two,” Toni hushed them. But they both knew she didn’t. “How about some more ice cream?"

Leslie hated being rude, but she can’t help but go “Blergh!” after eating a minimum of three flavours of ice cream trying to keep her cover from being blown. So instead, to spare Toni’s feelings, she decided to change the topic. “Where were you during the fire?”

“Oh, I was out on political duty in the area. Y’know, canvassing the place, planting signs, shaking hands, the lot. Then out of nowhere, I smelled smoke. I turned around, and I saw the whole building on fire. Ablaze in a red and yellow glow! It was like Hollywood. That was where I had my first job. The whole thing was unimaginable.”

“You worked in Hollywood? That’s cool!” Leslie gasped.

“No, no, no, silly. I worked at the Old Town Hall. Oh, do you believe I shared an office with Tommy Lindenson. *Gasp!* That one was hella cute.” Toni made a gesture with her hand. “Usually the cute ones are as dumb as a big box of stupid. But not this one. Oh, he works outstate of River Heights now. But if I win this election and word gets out to him that I won, maybe he’ll come back and visit……”

“Uh, I think we’re getting a bit out of topic here,” Laptrap cautioned.

“Right. The fire,” Toni snapped back to the present (and yesterday). “That’s what we were talking about.”

“Who else did you see at the fire?” Leslie asked.

“I saw Alexei, the Antiques shop owner…… oh, between you and me, that one is a walking cautionary tale. I also saw Deidre Shannon and Brenda Carlton. And Joni, of course. That’s all.”

Leslie left the shop with only a bit more information about these two “Scoopers” than she previously did. She walked down the street and waited until she was out of earshot of Deidre before Laptrap spoke to her. 

“I just had an idea. Let’s have Santiago talk to Deidre. Since we can’t get information out of her directly, how about we let Santiago do that? I mean, Deidre’s always had a thing for him, I think?”

Leslie agreed. That was a plan and they’re going to tell Joni about it. Anything to get their brave leader out of jail.

Laptrap then reminded her of what Joni needed — to get a sample of the fire accelerant from the point of origin in Old Town Hall. So after rendezvous-ing with Owen some blocks away from the town hall (so that they won’t get caught by the police patrolling the scene of crime) and getting the glass vial from him (the one that Owen found in the antiques shop), Leslie completed her mission and sent the sample to the police station.

Inside the burned building, Leslie noted that the fire alarm was turned off. On purpose. Leslie called Joni, informed her of her revelation, and passed the case on to her.

The first thing Joni did was call her dad about the fire alarm, as he knows the people who operate the alarms in the city. Also, he could be worried sick about her being in jail.

“Hi, dad.”

“Joni! Are you alright?”

“Well, I’m in jail. So things could be better.”

“Still?”

The lecture came on. “Joni, I’ve always thought, no, I’ve always known you as a very responsible person. Reckless sometimes, but responsible. I’m booking a flight straight home from Australia. This is one of the cases where you can’t handle things alone.”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to do that. Your Australian clients depend on you. They……”

“Promise me you won’t turn down help, Joni.”

“I promise.”

“How are they treating you in jail?”

“So far, so good. Chief McGinnis let me out of the holding cell ‘cause he didn’t see a reason to keep me locked up.”

“That’s good news.” Carson Savage was relieved.

“But I can’t go home yet until I can prove that I didn’t start the fire.”

“You got this, Joni,” Carson cheered his daughter on. “You need help with anything, just call.”

“Also, I can use the equipment in the police station as long as I don’t get caught.”

“Joni, I have to warn you about something. You’ve heard this many times but be careful. You could land yourself in some serious hot water if you impede the investigation in any way.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“That’s my girl,” Carson praised.

“And dad?”

“Yes?”

“As a matter of fact, I do need help with something. The fire alarm, my friends discovered, has been turned off on the day of the fire. Can you look into that?”

“I know some people who control things like this. Call me up in a few minutes.” And he hung up.

After calling her dad, Joni collected the sample from the Package Drop and put it into the gas chromatograph in the Forensics Department. She pressed “Analyse” and some graphs and numbers flashed on the machine’s screen, and a piece of paper came out from the printer. She took a look at it. It was a vertical bar graph. “I need to find the accelerant that matches these figures.”

She then put her house keys and lock-picking kit into the Package Drop and called Leslie to take the case again.


	7. Getting the Scoop from Brenda Carlton

Leslie unlocked the door with Joni’s house keys. Santiago and Owen were inside, waiting for their next assignment from Joni. Leslie stepped into the living room

“Did you get the sample?” Owen asked

“Yup. Leslie’s submitted it to Joni. Y’all have nothing to do?”, Laptrap asked somewhat condescendingly.

“I’ve got a house to look after and a pet anaconda to feed. You, Owen?” Santiago elbowed the hippy skateboarder.

“Uh, I’ve skated all over town already in my free time. Leslie, you should explore River Heights a bit more. Start with the antiques store. That’s where I found the glass vial I gave you.”

“Is Alexei Markovic, the owner, a nice person?” the African-American bookworm asked. “Toni Scallari from Scoop informed me that he is a walking cautionary tale.”

“Aww, to heck with gossip and what people say,” Owen dismissed. “I’ve been hearing he was a mystery-solver of some sort, just like us, in his youth. The only way to find out if he’s nice or not is to meet him in person and talk to him.”

“Then I shall proceed with that.” And Leslie went upstairs to see if there’s anything useful in Joni’s room, Laptrap following behind.

“Oh, and uh, Leslie?” Owen called after her. Leslie stopped.

“Check out the nightstand. Got some cool gear on it.” And Owen winked as if he found out something that Leslie should find out, too.

Leslie went straight to the nightstand and unlocked it with Joni’s key. In it was a few matchboxes (one that made Joni a suspect in starting a fire), a lifetime supply of Koko Kringles chocolate bars and a stash of Krolmeister fingerprint-dusting kits. Leslie took one bar and one kit. Yum-yum, chocolate. She wished she could send a few bars to Joni at the police station, so she picked up a few more and made a mental note to put them in the apackage Drop the next chance she got. 

Then she did some light reading on On The Case on Joni’s nightstand. Is this what Owen wanted her to find? A book? Wait, Owen reading? Leslie had to laugh a little. Owen hardly reads unless it’s for school or homework. Wonder what else he had read in Joni’s room? 

She found out soon enough when she flipped that picture of Santiago and read the letter on the back of it. Now she, and Laptrap, are in the know along with Owen about Joni’s feelings for Santiago. Now all that’s left to do is to tell Santiago…… AFTER Joni’s been set free.

Leslie came down the stairs with a big, goofy smile on her face and winked back at Owen, indicating that she had found what Owen had wanted her to seek. Even Laptrap was buzzing with excitement and Owen began to tear up from holding back laughter. Santiago caught on with their unusual cheerfulness and asked what’s up.

“Nothing,” they all said in unison. Santiago noticed their smiles. Something was up. They knew something he didn’t. Something they had found in Joni’s room. He hated snooping around and invading others’ privacy, especially not his best friend’s. The thought of entering her room behind her back didn’t even cross his mind. Santiago will ask Joni about the thing that Owen, Leslie and Laptrap knew once they get her out of jail.

At the antique store, Leslie — the usually calm, collected and careful member of the ClueFinders — somehow managed to knock into a big green vase near the entrance and cause it to smash into pieces. When Alexei learned that she couldn’t pay for it, he chased her out with some sarcasm and scolding, even after Leslie apologised. He even told her about how the vase travelled across continents and survived two world wars only to be smashed to death by some kid. And he banned her from ever reentering. Upset and in shock, Leslie decided to talk to Brenda Carlton in a parked van just outside the shop.

The van served as Brenda’s media headquarters. All sorts of screens and buttons and wires and controls were in there. It was more than just a vehicle.

“Hello, ClueFinder,” Brenda took off her headphones and turned around.

“Hello. Can you help us let the town know that Joni is innocent?”

“Innocent? No,” Brenda huffed, confident in her answer. “I don’t think so. The jury’s been decided and she’s been put in jail, and that’s it.”

“But she really is innocent,” Leslie protested.

“Then why is she in jail?”

“Because she’s been framed!”

“Ha. Trust me, I’ve covered hundreds of stories like this in River Heights, so I can safely say that almost all of them have claimed that they’ve been framed.”

“But it wasn’t her who burned down Old Town Hall! You’ve got to believe me, Brenda,” Leslie pleaded.

“Now I don’t believe that. Plus, it’s a good story: the leader of a team of heroes falls from grace, a once grateful town turns its back, the final clue is found……,” Brenda raised a fist. “See? I don’t even need to try to make it interesting. It just is.”

“Are you writing a story about the fire, Brenda?”

“Yes. And reporting and broadcasting and webcasting and macro and microblogging it. I OWN this story, Leslie. I do.”

“You seem pretty convinced that Joni is guilty.”

Brenda clasped her hands and let out a cutesy-girl sigh. “I admire how you can stick up for your friends, Leslie Clark. But you must be careful. People aren’t what they say, even in a small town like this.”

“Don’t you care about seeing justice done?” There’s GOT to be some good in this woman, Leslie figured. 

“No. I’m a reporter. I don’t do charity work. And if people cared about justice I would be reporting on it. But no. Instead, they want BIG NEWS AND EVEN BIGGER STORIES! Which is why I’m saying, I’m just doing my job.”

Ugh. Leslie could just throw up inside Brenda’s caravan and all her equipment there and then. “What do you think of Joni, honestly?”

“On or off the record?”

“Just…… honestly.”

So off the record, then. I think she’s in deep, deep trouble and is way out of her depth now.”

“And on the record?”

“Well, she’s just part of what makes this town so special!” Brenda faked a smile and enthusiasm. Leslie wasn’t buying it. She decided to move on to a new topic.

“What were you doing during the fire yesterday?”

“In my line of work, you have to work for the answers. In exchange for information about the fire or what I was doing at the fire, you’ll give me information about Joni. How’s that?”

Fine. Another topic. “You didn’t treat us fairly in that article you wrote about us, the ClueFinders team.”

“I’m sorry, did I misquote what you said in the interview?” Brenda asked oh-so-innocently.

“No. You took what we said about our friend Joni out of context.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. But don’t worry, that happens a lot. It’s common for subjects to get nervous and forget what they said.”

“But we know what we said.” But Leslie knew it was useless to try to get Brenda to see things straight when she’s on a roll, even as a reporter.

“It’s okay. You just need a little practice. Come to me whenever you’re ready. We can talk about Joni and your ClueFinding days.”

“We. Know. What. We. Said.”

“And, I’m just doing my job,” Brenda finished with a smirk. Leslie wouldn’t normally consider violence, but she considered punching this buzz-feeding reporter in the face there and then.

But luckily, she didn’t do that.

“Let’s talk about Joni, instead, shall we?” Brenda grabbed her microphone and thrust it in Leslie’s face. “Is Joni Savage known to make y’all, the ClueFinders, skirt the law from time to time when you’re on a case?”

“Y-yes?” Leslie panicked. “Uh, I mean, no? Ugh, I mean, there was one time we almost got in trouble but that wasn’t even close and —” 

“So Joni Savage just blatantly breaks the law and drags her friends into it with her impulsive behaviour. Got it.”

“No, wait —”

“Tell me about Joni’s dark side. Has she always been so interested in starting fires?” 

“NO, BRENDA. I DO NOT WANT TO BE INTERVIEWED. I just want to find out what’s going on with Joni,” Leslie put her foot down.

“Okay, fine. I’ll put the kid gloves back on.” Brenda put her microphone away. “Everyone in this town is so shy.” The reporter let out a sigh. “This is no place for someone who's looking to make a big break on the TV screen.”

“You’re looking to move forward in your career?”

“Yep, and this backwater bourgh just doesn’t cut it for me. This fire is the most interesting to happen here since old man Crowley’s will was found. And the fact that the ClueFinders are somehow involved in it, makes it all the more buzzworthy!”

Laptrap’s circuits buzzed impatiently for the next topic. Leslie took the cue. “What do you think of Toni?”

“I think she’s been putting pressure on the cops to arrest someone — anyone — to get this case off her to-do list.”

“You mean, she may be pushing for Joni to be arrested?”

“As long as someone takes the fall, then yeah,” Brenda affirmed. Laptrap buzzed again.

“Bye, Brenda.” Leslie had heard enough, and left the van.

“Bye, Leslie!. Just remember, if you have some good scoop about Joni or any of your teammates, you can always call me up for a chat!” Brenda waved her out.

Like Leslie would betray any of her friends to a reporter who doesn’t have an ounce of integrity or even honesty in her work.


	8. The Print on the Note

Back at the police station, Joni called her dad. “Hey, dad. I need help interpreting some sample data. I’ve got these results from a gas chromatograph but I’m not sure what the output means. Can you help me?” Mr. Savage said he will drop off a piece of reference paper back at their home. Joni decided to ask her friends to keep an eye out for it.

“Any luck getting me out of jail?” Joni asked her dad.

“No such luck yet. But I’m working on getting a ticket home. This is important. My work in Australia can wait.”

“Okay.”

“Also, I’ve talked to Chief McGinnis. He’s not going to budge.”

“Shoot,” Joni said glumly.

“If you run into any trouble with the chief, come to me, okay? I know we can work this out.”

“What do I do if I can’t clear my name?” Joni asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about that right now.”

“It’s a little hard not to,” the spunky redhead admitted.

“You let me worry about the court proceedings,” Carson Savage assured his daughter. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“I guess I’m lucky to have a lawyer for a father.”

“And I guess I’m lucky to have a daughter who only rarely goes to jail.”

“Dad!”

“Alright. I’m gonna upgrade that to ‘almost never’. Don’t worry. You’re not guilty and you’ve got me in your corner. We’ll get through this.”

“Thanks, dad.” Joni was glad. Nothing like talking to a loved one in a time like this to know someone believes her and has got her back.

But she still has to stay focused on the case. “What did you find out about the fire alarms?”

“That you were right. They were disabled. At around 2.17pm on site on the night of the fire.”

“Thank you. That was important information. I’ll call you again when I can, okay?”

“Okay. Good luck, Joni. And be careful.”

Joni called Santiago next. She wanted him to check everyone’s alibi at 2.17pm yesterday and update that into the journal software he installed into everyone’s phone. There was also another thing she needed him to do……

“Can you help us out with Deidre? We need more information from her about the fire.”

“Deidre? How?”

“You know how she’s always flirting with you?” That little bitch.

“Maybe she’s just being nice.”

Nice, yes. But like, only to you.”

“I’m just a pleasant person, Joni,” Santiago teased. 

“Santiago……”

“Alright, alright,” he giggled. “What do you want me to do?”

“Put on that trademark casual Santiago cuteness,” Joni was thankful Santiago couldn’t see her blush over the phone, “and see what you can find out from her. Check her alibi as well at 2.17pm yesterday.”

“You sure this is okay with you? What if someone sees me hanging out with Deidre and starts gossiping?”

“Santiago, who cares what people think?” Really, who cares? “Also, I’m in jail and would like to get out.”

“Alright, I’ll do what it takes. For you, Joni.”

Joni’s heart raced at the “For you, Joni”. “Focus, Joni,” she told herself. “Focus!”

“I need you to take over the case.”

“Santiago Rivera, taking over.”

The Hispanic boy hung up and went to the Antiques store. He asked the owner Alexei where he was at around two in the afternoon yesterday. Alexei said that he was giving a talk at the River Heights Historical Society about the time capsule, and how the winner of the Clues Challenge will get to put a personal item in it. But not that it matters anymore since it was burned to a crisp in the fire. Ned explained that the talk was cancelled. Alexei insisted that he had given his talk at around 2pm yesterday.

“That’s…… not what I heard,” Santiago said.

“Well, what you heard was wrong. So why don’t you just butt out?” Alexei said angrily. Okay. Next question.

“What’s the story with these fire alarm keys? I found them in this store here.”

Alexei denied ever seeing them in his life. He got mad. He screamed about how he’s not going through this anymore with the people of River Heights. “Once is enough!” And he chased Santiago out of his store.

Santiago felt awful. And a little scared. He didn’t want to upset the poor old man. He didn’t like it when he blew up like that either. But then again, his friend was in jail and he wanted to get her out. So he had no choice but to ask his innocent suspects sensitive questions…… 

Santiago decided to go to Scoop and work his magic on Deidre. He went straight up to her eating outside and said hi.

“Santiago! Hi! How’s it going?”

“Goin’ fine,” Santiago answered as casually and smoothly as he could.

“Fine. You certainly are fine,” Deidre purred. Yuck. “Wanna share a snack with me?”

“Actually, I need more information from you. Joni’s in trouble.” Maybe the upfront method is better, he decided.

“Sigh. Santino. That girl does not deserve you. But I’ll help, ‘cause I’m wonderful, right?”

“You can say that.” Sure, she can.

“Great. Because I did.”

Santiago started asking what she thought of the other people in this town. He started with Alexei. “He was supposedly accused of some crime when he was younger,” came her reply. He then asked about Brenda. “I’m so not a fan of her. I just sort of hate her. She’s always so chipper. She puts on these wigs and impersonates people and makes things up just for a good story. Oh, and, didn’t she impersonate Joni once? That’s not normal behaviour there.”

Brenda has impersonated Joni before? Interesting…… 

Santiago then asked Brenda where she was at around 2pm yesterday.

“I was tackling the Clues Challenge. Don’t believe me? Call my friends.” And she gave Santiago Holly and Jessica’s phone numbers.

“Why were you at town hall during the fire?”

Deidre sighed and examined her nails. “To be really honest with you, Santino, I am getting really bored of talking about that fire. I’ve been over it with everyone. Can we please talk about something else?”

“Please, for me?” Santiago put on his best puppy-dog eyes.

“Alright.” Deidre fell for it. “For you. I was out jogging.”

“I didn’t know you like jogging.”

“Yeah. I’m into all that health stuff,” Deidre said as she sipped on her…… milkshake. 

“What did you see at the fire?”

“I saw some smoke. It did not smell good. I also saw the antiques guy, and Brenda and Toni. And Joni.”

“Did you notice anything strange?”

“That’s a negative.”

“Alright. You’ve been a big help, Deidre. Thank you so much.” Santiago turned to walk away, but Deidre grabbed his arm. 

“Wait. I have…… a confession.”

“You like me and wish I would be with you?” Santiago thought. “Here it comes!”

“About what?” he asked instead.

“About the fire. You’re so nice to me, you might as well know. You see, the real reason I was at town hall was because I was following Joni.”

“You were following Joni?”

“I thought she was cheating in the Clues Challenge, since you ClueFinders are so far ahead of the other teams. I intercepted a note that told her to go to Town Hall. So I went there and waited. Nothing happened.”

Fancy that, thinking we’re cheating! “Do you still have the note?”

“Yeah, here.” Deidre pulled something out of her designer purse. “It came with this plastic bag. It was raining really hard that evening. Whoever wrote it must not want it to get ruined.

Santiago took the note, put it in his pocket, thanked Deidre for her honest confession, and went into Scoop.

He talked briefly with Toni. A truck honked outside the shop. Toni went out to receive a delivery. Now’s Santiago’s chance to snoop around!

Santiago found, underneath a cabinet, photos of the Old Town Hall at different angles and spots, including of the fire alarm. “Why would Toni have these?” he thought out loud, unless the councilwoman and ice cream shop owner had been staking out the place……?

He pocketed the photos and opened the cabinet. He found two snowflake-shaped ice trays inside. He noted it down in his mind that Toni has them in her possession. He then drove to Joni’s house and got a fingerprint-dusting keep in touch from her room.

Santiago sat down on her desk and smiled at the picture of himself on her nightstand. He took the note out of the plastic and carefully dusted it. When he found a print, he took a piece of tape, taped it down, then placed the tape onto a piece of paper. He then put the paper and the note and the photos in his backpack as evidence to be sent to Joni at the police station.

After dropping the items off, he called Holly, Deidre’s friend. Holly said she was doing the Clues Challenge with Deidre and Jessica at around 2pm yesterday. Santiago called Jessica to confirm Holly’s story. Jessica told him that only herself and Holly were working on the Clues Challenge yesterday, and Deidre only showed up hours later.”

“Where was she?” Santiago asked.

Jessica sighed. “I don’t know. Don’t tell her I said this, but she’s not a very good team member. She’s never where she says she is and she’s always running around doing who-knows-what that’s not what she’s supposed to do at the moment…… Sigh. Don’t tell her I said that, kay? Look, I really have to go now.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go.” And Santiago hung up. Then he called Joni to take over the case.

Joni collected the evidence Santiago sent her. She pinned the town hall photos, as well as a sticky note about the snowflake shaped ice trays, onto Toni’s section on the board. She then pinned the sticky note with the words “FALSE ALIBI: meeting cancelled” onto Alexei’s section.

She then decided to find out whose fingerprint was on the note. She put the print into the fingerprint scanner next to the computer. She clicked on the PrintSync program, pressed Load Sample and Search. No matches were found. Hmmm. Joni knew what she had to do.

She called Santiago. She tasked him with collecting fingerprints from all four suspects as a sample to match up with the one on the note. She also asked him to distract Deidre so that he could get her fingerprint somehow. “Can do,” he said, and Joni passed the case to him.

***

“Where were you before the fire started?” Santiago questioned Brenda in the Heights Nine van. 

“Live and on the scene, as usual. Work never stops.”

“You didn’t exactly answer my question.”

“Sorry. I am on a lead now. I have to work on my notes.” And Brenda cut the conversation short.

“This woman definitely IS hiding something,” thought Santiago. But he’s not going to let her work get in the way of HIS work getting his best friend out of jail. No siree! He tried again.

“You’ve impersonated Joni in the past, haven’t you?”

Brenda turned around. “Probably. I do crazy things sometimes for a good story. It’s part of the job.”

“How crazy?”

“Crazy enough. My methods are questionable on occasion. I go about setting up a trap and when someone falls for it…… WHAM! See you at seven ‘cause you just got nined!”

“Ummm, isn’t that a little bit unethical?”

“Nope. It’s better. It’s actually interesting.”

Next question! “Do you think Deidre could have started the fire?”

“What do you mean?”

“She was following Nancy and she snagged a note asking Nancy to go there, to the Old Town Hall.”

“So someone was trying to lure Joni to the fire with a note?”

“Yes, exactly!”

Brenda was indifferent. “What’s to say she didn’t write the note herself? I’ve seen that sort of thing before.”

“What’s to say she did?”

“Basic logic. ‘I couldn’t possibly be guilty. Look at this note that anyone could have written.’ It’s desperate.”

Brenda seemed to be really convinced that Joni was the arsonist. Okay. Santiago thanked her and left the van.

Santiago went inside Alexei's store. “Hi. Uh, my dad’s a real train buff. Do you have any models at the back that perhaps I could take a look at?”

“Now that’s a question I like,” commented Alexei. “Wait here.” And he went to the back of the store, leaving Santiago free to snoop about.

Santiago dusted the metal telescope Alexei was holding. But he found no prints. Alexei must have polished them off. Just his luck. He moved on to Scoop for Deidre and Toni’s fingerprints.

“Hey, Deidre,” he began to distract her. “I was wondering if you and I……”

“Yeeeeeees?” Deidre fluttered her eyelashes at him. Ew.

“...... could maybe grab some food together?”

“Yes, I would like that.” The signature scowl on her face was gone. All it took was Santiago asking her out. Classic Deidre. “But I can’t go out like this. I’m going to have to get ready.”

“But…… you’re out already.”

“Oh, Santino. I know you’re used to spending time with Joni Savage, but not all girls are like that. Some of us find better ways to spend our time than playing detective.” Classic. Deidre.

So Deidre went back home to change, leaving Santiago clear to collect her fingerprint on her milkshake cup……

Santiago then went in and ordered some ice cream from Toni. He then dusted the ice cream bowl after finishing his treat and collected Toni’s print from it. 

Santiago put the prints he collected in the Package Drop of the station. He called Joni, who then called Owen. The case was then passed to Owen.

Owen skateboarded to Joni’ house and got his own fingerprint-dusting kit. He then went to Alexei’s store and lied about being a fan of antique radios. While Alexei was gone, Owen dusted his can of metal polish next to his telescope and collected a print. He then used the key he found in the shop to open Alexei’s large trunk by the glass display case. Inside, he found a newspaper highlighting the day Alexei was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit. He also found a bottle of ether (a fire accelerant!) and Alexei’s old diary from his past. Written in the diary was cases from his glory days and his dark days when he was accused and lost everyone, everything. “Poor Alexei,” Owen muttered.

Owen put the things back into the chest, locked it up, and got out of the store before Alexei came back. He then went inside Brenda’s van and asked her for a way to get in touch with her later. Brenda gave him one of her business cards. She said her phone is always off when she’s on a scene but she checks her messages regularly and will call back if it’s important.

“If you want to talk about Joni, off the record, even, I’m always there for you,” she added. Eh, no thanks. See ya!

Owen then left the van and skated to a safe distance from it. From there, he called Brenda by the number on her card and reported breaking news in the South River Heights area. Brenda picked up the cue. Owen skated back to her van and looked inside. She was gone. So quickly! He wondered what was her secret to getting around town so swiftly.

He got out his fingerprint dusting kit and dusted Brenda’s microphone, and collected her print. Huzzah! Owen then went to the police station and dropped off the prints and passed the case to Joni after reporting on everything he learned.

Joni put all the prints into the fingerprint scanner. She matched up the print on the note to each of them. The print on the note was Brenda’s, which meant Brenda had written and sent the note to Joni and lured her into the fire herself! But could Joni rule out other suspects yet? Nope. 

Joni went back to the evidence board. She pinned a sticky note saying “ether in trunk” to Alexei, “fingerprint on note” to Brenda, “friends didn’t back alibi” to Deidre and “said she was working — can’t confirm” to Brenda again. Joni was relieved to see all the other suspects having more pins on their section than on hers. This case is going along pretty fine!

Joni called Leslie (Toni’s favourite customer) and asked her to ask for Toni’s alibi. Toni said “Here, at scoop,” when asked where she was at 2.17pm yesterday. Leslie knew Toni was lying. She called Joni outside of Scoop and reported her findings. 

Joni placed the “Lied: Scoop closed, not open” sticky note on Toni’s section of the board. This case is REALLY going on fine!


	9. Deidre's Ticket

Joni called Santiago again. “Santiago, I need your Riverspertise.”

“I see what you did there,” he laughed. “This is about Deidre, isn’t it?”

“Yes, we need to distract her. You have to ask her out on a date.”

“I have to what?”

“Just take her out for lunch, stall her for a while.”

“J-Joni. I don’t like or date girls like her. I don’t wanna be known as the guy who dated Deidre Shannon. Besides, I only want to date girls like… like…” Like you, Joni. But he’s not gonna say that…… yet.

“Like?” Of course Joni had to ask.

“Like… uh… girls that I like, yes.” Good save, Rivera. 

“Santiago. Please.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it. I’ll ask Deidre out. It’s weird, but I’ll do it.”

“Thanks. I’m passing the case to you.”

“I’m on it!”

Santiago went to Scoop. There’s Deidre. For Joni. Here goes nothing……

“What’s the deal?” Deidre shouted at him. “I waited for you for over an hour.”

“Sorry.” He came up with an excuse. “I got stuck in some traffic.”

“Alright. Fine. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Cool. So uh… I was wondering if we could go get some food together.”

“Yes, I would like that.” And off the unlikely pair went, to Joni’s happiness (ironically) if she were to find out.

Some time later, Joni called Santiago to check up on him during his “date”. “Did you manage to distract Deidre?”

“Yes, I did it!” Santiago whisper-cheered discreetly, away from Deidre.

“Great. I’ll get Owen or Leslie to see if she’s left anything behind.”

Remembering Leslie was at Scoop earlier, Joni called Leslie and passed the case to her. Leslie went to Scoop and found Deidre’s notebook lying on her table. She opened it and saw lots of notes, clues, scribbling and doodles about The ClueFinders (mostly nasty, jealous ones except about Santiago) and of the Clues Challenge. Leslie flipped a page and found a ticket issued for Deidre. It was a fine for driving past a red light on the day of the fire. 

Leslie went and dropped the ticket off to Joni at the police station and passed the case back to Joni. Joni entered the number of the ticket, RH627E401, into the TicketShark program on the computer. Information about the ticket and Deidre popped up. Deirede had run a red light because she was too distracted to stop — she was singing a power ballad, as seen in the photograph taken of her by the traffic light. The fine amount was $100. This ticket places her at Town Hall at 2.17pm yesterday!

Joni went and pinned the ticket at Deidre’s section of the evidence board. She’s gonna be so confused when she comes back from her date with Santiago to find that her ticket is missing!


	10. Toni's Cabinet

“I’m on the case!” Leslie said as she hung up her phone. She was at Scoop again, never seeming to leave the place for long until Joni was out of jail. She had Joni’s lock-picking kit with her. She waited for Toni to step outside and welcome yet another delivery before going into the back room of the ice cream store (she found the key to the room in the cabinet with the snowflake-shaped ice cube trays). 

She found a can of paint thinner (an accelerant!) on the shelf. She then bent down and began picking the lock of a floor cabinet. Remembering Joni’s notes about lock-picking written in a notebook in Joni’s room, Leslie worked on the lock until she got the cabinet open.

Leslie stared at the contents of the cabinet. Why would Toni have plans for Old Town Hall? Does she stand to profit from Old Town Hall being burned down or demolished? Another thing in the cabinet hit her hard in the stomach: it was file keeping track of the ClueFinders’ cases tackled and how each case led to a drop in public approval ratings for Toni. Toni seems to have a major grudge against the ClueFinders, no matter how nice she is to them every time they ask for a bowl of ice cream or a milkshake. “I can’t believe this is one Toni thinks of us!” Leslie thought out loud. “I better tell Joni.”

Leslie quickly put back all the contents of the cabinet in their proper places and got out of Scoop before she got caught. She decided to phone Joni to see how she’s doing.

“How are you holding up?”

“It’s… not great in here,” Joni answered honestly. “But I suppose it could be worse.”

“Worst experience of your life so far?” Leslie tried to lighten the mood like Owen can.

“If it weren’t for you, this would be the worst experience of my life, and we get knocked unconscious and thrown into a dungeon every week or so.”

True. That’s life for a ClueFinder. But if some cases aren’t dangerous for a bunch of 10, 11 and 12-year-old kids…… 

“I’m passing the case to you, Joni.”

Joni pinned the new evidence “Toluene in supply closet” and “Secret plans for Old Town Hall” onto Toni’s board section. Then she phoned her dad to ask if he knows anything about Toni’s development deals.

“Offhand, not much. What do you need?” Carson asked.

“My friends found some of her paperwork. It looks like she might stand to profit from town hall being demolished.”

“Lemme look into that. Call me back in a bit.” BEEP!

Joni passed the case to Owen again. Owen skated to Scoop and confronted Deidre about running the red light yesterday and getting herself a ticket.

“Just passing by. I was speeding because I heard that that neighbourhood is full of dangerous criminals. For example, arsonists.”

No wonder none of the ClueFinders have willingly attended her parties before. How rude!

Owen decided not to confront Toni about what Leslie had found in her back room to not rouse her suspicious about them poking around. There’s something they haven’t found out yet. They have found accelerants on only two out of four suspects: Alexei and Toni. Deidre wasn’t carrying any accelerants with her, so that just leaves Brenda. Owen called Heights Nine News and reported breaking news in the North River Heights area. Then he skated to Brenda’s van, went inside, and found Acetone (nail polish remover) in her makeup box.

“Bingo!”

Back at the police station, Joni pinned “Acetone in van” next to Brenda’s photo on the board. She then had Owen skate to her house, pick up her dad’s accelerants chart and drop it off at the station for her. “Thanks, Owen,” she thanked her speedy skateboarder friend.

Joni compared the gas chromatograph output with the chart. It turns out that it was Isopropyl Alcohol that was used to accelerate the fire and not gasoline. Talk about finding evidence that proves you are not the arsonist!

Joni pinned the graph of accelerants onto her own section on the board. She then beeped for the chief police to come have a look. The chief nodded in approval. “Looks solid. Looks like you’ve got yourself a get-out-of-jail free card.”


	11. Jailbreak!

"Joni! You’re out! I was so worried,” Santiago exclaimed when he saw his best friend walk through the door of her house. He got up from the couch and ran to give her a big hug.

“Glad to have you out,” Owen backed up. He gave Joni a hug, too.

“Agreed,” Leslie put in. Third hug, incoming!

“Yippeeeee!” Laptrap cheered. The Turbo T.U.R.T.L.E. could not hug, but in his robotic heart, he could (metaphorically speaking).

“Thanks guys. Couldn’t have gotten out of jail without you. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for.” She squeezed her friends tight.

“We’re still not out of the woods completely yet, though,” Leslie reminded. “We still have to uncover the real culprit who framed you. If you need assistance in any form, just request.”

“Agreed, Leslie. Come on, ClueFinders!” Joni commanded and let go of her friends. “Let’s crack this case wide open and restore our good name!”

The first thing Joni did was call her dad to tell him she was out of jail. The next thing she did was confront all the other suspects about everything they had said about her to her friends.

Deidre (as usual) was snarky. But at least she admitted that she thought The ClueFinders were cheating at the Clues Challenge. And that she and her team were cheating as well. And that she doesn’t really care about the Clues Challenge and only participated in it because her dad wanted her to be “more active in the community and blah”. Cool. At least she tried.

Toni had a big bluff ready: she told Joni she was pulling for her the whole time. Pfft. But at least she admitted that she DID put pressure on the police to arrest someone. And “if someone has to take the fall for the common good every once in a while, so be it”. Yeah, but why Joni, though? That’s not very fair. Fairness may be a luxury in government, but you wouldn’t make a very good councilwoman at all. Once we crack this case, let’s see YOUR ratings go up (probably not).

Alexei was supportive. He had been framed once and he could not bear to see Joni suffer. He was happy to see the leader of the ClueFinders free at last and even told her he never doubted her, not even for a second. That was music to Joni’s ears. He was even kind enough to answer all of Joni's questions about Toni, himself and the fire.

As for Brenda? She whipped out her mic and shoved it in Joni’s face the moment she walked into her van. The conversation went something like this:

"Joni. How are you adjusting to life on the outside?"

"Fine, thank you. I'm not in the mood for an interview."

"That's okay. Everything you say will be off the record."

"You're still holding your microphone." Joni looked annoyed.

"Sorry, habit."

"Still holding it." Ugh!

"Alright. You're good." Brenda finally put her mic down. "Word of warning - I will get the exclusive. I always do."

"Why wasn't your van at the fire?"

"It was, I just came separately. I share the van with other reporters sometimes."

"Can you tell me a little bit about your van?" Joni was curious.

"I never pictured myself as the kind of person to drive around in a van, but I have to admit this one's pretty cool."

"Why's that?"

"First thing, it's less of a van and more of a mobile action center. I spend more time here prepping stories than I do at home."

"Do you mind if I look around in the van?"

"Yes. First, it's mine. Second, I have dirt on everyone in this town here. Sorry, Joni. As a journalist, it's my ethical duty to make sure that all of the embarrassing footage I've got stays private until they are fit for broadcast."

"Liiiiiike, blackmailing?" Joni never hated this style of "journalism" so much in her life.

"No, no. Is that what you think of me? It's not blackmail, it's fact-checking. I have to balance the individual's right to privacy with the public's need to know."

"You didn't exactly extend that 'fact-checking' courtesy to me."

"Didn't I? I think the public needs to know everything it can about the criminal, sorry, alleged criminal activities of the local self-appointed do-gooders the ClueFinders.

Journalism. Ugh! Joni could PUKE. "Why are you playing me up as the villain in the media?"

"I'm just doing my job. I'm letting the world know about all of the suspicious things you've done," Brenda smirked.

"You should be reporting on the truth, not trying to get a better job. My life is at stake!"

"Mine, too!" PFFT! "And anyway, what good does telling the truth do if no one can hear you?"

"You certainly do have a reputation of being the first on the scene, how do you do that?"

"When news breaks, I get there first."

"Yes, I've seen the ad. I mean, how do you make it to the scene first?"

"It's a secret of the trade," Brenda winked. No answers, huh? Fine.

"You were at the scene of the fire so fast. How do you manage that?"

"It's my job to be ready at a second's notice. Some folks think I'm just lucky. I prefer to think I'm just that good."

"Is there a way I could get in touch with you later?"

"Here, take one of my cards. My cell phone number is on it."

Joni thanked the devious reporter and left the van. She walked a safe distance from the van to avoid being spotted by Brenda, and called her number on the card. She reported breaking news in the West River Heights area and waited for five minutes. She then walked back to the van and found it vacant.

She snooped about. She saw a recording of Brenda's interview with Santiago in front of the Old Town Hall while Joni was arrested. She pressed the play button. Brenda had taken Santiago's words and twisted them out of context. By the end of the interview, Santiago looked really guilty and was obviously feeling bad for his best friend. Oh, "Santino".

Joni could see Deidre behind Santiago, talking into her phone but her voice was muffled by background and white noises. Joni messed around with the buttons, controls and levers on the sound until she could hear Deidre's voice clearly in the video. Deidre had thought she was following Joni to the town hall, but it wasn't Joni. Who was that she was following, someone who was impersonating Joni, perhaps?

Joni saw a key and a schedule hanging nearby - a schedule full of events and interviews Brenda must cover for the week. How does she make it to all those interviews on the same day in time??? It just makes no sense! She took the key and opened a little drawer on the side of the van. She found a letter addressed to Brenda about her bitterness about having her Antiquities story being pulled from the channel's broadcast schedule. Brenda apparently had never gotten over it and it was affecting her career and she blames the ClueFinders for it. 

Lastly, Joni found a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol by Brenda's microphone. And Joni just knew it. She had found her culprit - the TRUE arsonist.


	12. The Underground Tunnels of River Heights

Joni went straight home. She had to hear what Santiago had to say about his interview with Brenda. She wasn’t mad at him, but she still wanted to know if he had anything to say.

Santiago apologised profusely. They both knew what Brenda was like, so Santiago was forgiven. They then began talking about River Heights’ recent traffic conditions. It was so bad that Santiago said walking would be faster than driving. If traffic was that bad, how did Brenda get to her interviews on time? What, did she use secret tunnels or something?

Santiago guessed that Brenda is either good at being in two places at once and has teleporting abilities, or has some top secret route that only she knows about. Top secret routes…… River Heights is an old town, yes, but is there any chance that those things might exist, say, underground under this very town? Only Brenda knows, for now.

Joni called her dad for updates and new info. He said he didn’t know anything about any underground tunnels but he had found something out about Toni and her town hall business. She is the majority shareholder in the heights development, meaning she'll stand to profit if anything happens to that land. But Carson also warned his daughter not to take this info and go barking up the wrong tree unless she is one hundred percent sure. Joni agreed and hung up.

The ClueFinders leader went to Old Town Hall next. She had to find a clue to who was impersonating her. Yup, it was Brenda again. She found the reporter's Heights Nine employee pass dropped into a pile of ruins. That woman really has it out for Joni and her friends!

Joni decided to stealthily enter the town hall again, through the side window, just to see how badly it was burnt. "Woah. I can't believe I made it out of here in one piece," was all that she could say before getting out again.

She went to Scoop next to ask some questions. She asked Deidre how Brenda could have gotten around town so quickly.

"Probably by speeding. And she never gets a ticket because she's so good-looking."

"Didn't YOU get a ticket, too, Deidre?"

"Okay, I admit that was a flaw in my logic," Deidre said, flipping her hair and inspecting her manicure. "But I am still going to assume I'm right. I've got no idea how she does it."

"So what do you know about the notes that were left for me?"

"Promise not to be super mad?" Deidre flashed those fake puppy-dog eyes at Joni.

"Sure, fine." No use getting angry for whatever reason now.

"That's not the first note I found. I found another note earlier on your porch."

"What did it say?"

"It gave me a place to go. I went there. Nothing happened. That's when I thought maybe someone was expecting to meet you. The next time I intercepted the note and sent it your way."

"And you followed me to Old Town Hall."

"Right."

"Why are you admitting all this? I thought you hated me." Deidre DOES hate Joni, right?

"I do hate you. But I don't hate you. It's complicated. I just truly enjoy hating you, and I'd hate for something to happen that would throw off our equilibrium. Also it's not fair."

"Well, that's really nice of you, thanks."

"And that's why I hate you. So much positivity and tenacity and stuff. And, you're welcome."

Wow. Deidre can actually be nice. Nice. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

Stuck, Joni decided to go to talk to Alexei about the tunnels. He would be the only one old enough to know if they existed or not. She asked him about them and Alexei gave her a book titled “Dust and Dirt”. He told her to read it from cover to cover. The inner back cover of the book contained notes about the tunnels, including how the entrance is just outside the Antiques store. The notes also featured a puzzle guide to getting around the tunnels. Joni guessed that the answer to the puzzle is B.

Joni called Brenda and got her out of the van again. She entered the van and found a panel that opens up in the ground like a trap door. “This must be how Brenda gets around town so quickly,” Joni thought. Joni entered the tunnels, passed a few doors, and emerged out at the Old Town Hall. Bingo. 

Brenda was back in her van. Joni went and confronted her, at last.

“You were the one who left me those notes, weren't you?"

"Yes," Brenda admitted.

"You lured me to Town Hall, you led me into that room. All I need to know now is whether you were trying to frame me, or kill me."

"They both would have made a great story."

"You won't get away with this!" Joni shouted.

"You and I both know you have no proof."

"I have your fingerprints, and I-"

"And I'll be on air before you know it, spinning your story so hard that every potential juror in this town will be itching to lock you up and throw away the key." 

"Far from it. I'm going to make sure everyone in this town finds out who you REALLY are!"

"Look, you do what you want. If I were you, I'd take my head start and book myself a flight out of the country."

"I'm not the type to run away, Brenda."

"Before you say that, I'd take a good, long look at Alexei. That man's sad, broken-down lonely life in the grimy old store is your future if you stay. Your choice."

"This is about the antiquities show, isn't it?"

"This is about YOU. You know who screws up my leads? You. You know who gets in my way? You. You know who I'm sick of? Precious, special Joni Savage and her fellow ClueFinders. I'm going to love watching this town turn its back on all of you." And Brenda went back to work.

Joni stormed home. She needed to stop that broadcast at all costs! And she knew just the person good enough at tech to be able to help her do that.

"Santiago!" Joni screamed as she entered her house. She told him everything.

"What's up?"

"It's Brenda, all along! She's setting me up and ruining us!"

"I knew you'd figure out who it is!"

"Can you help me stop her broadcast?"

"Say no more. I have just the thing. Let me go get it. All I need is a battery. If you can find one for me we'd be set."

Joni ran up to her room and got a spare battery from her drawer.

Suddenly a rock flew in through the window, breaking the glass, and landed on Joni’s white piano. Owen jumped and Laptrap shrieked. “Ohmigosh! Who would do something like that?!” The Turbo T.U.R.T.L.E. cried. “Someone could really get hurt!”

The rock had a piece of paper attached to it. It read "Arsonists will get a taste of their own medicine!"

“Some ‘fine citizens’ of River Heights have been expressing their misplaced outrage since you were arrested,” Laptrap informed sarcastically. 

"I can't believe that just happened," Joni exclaimed. "I'm glad nobody got hurt. But what's with that?"

"Don't worry about that. They're just a bunch of cowards. We'll take care of this for you," Santiago assured her.

"Did you get the thing you were going to use to stop Brenda?"

"I've got it. It's one of my inventions. It's still in pieces, but I'll figure it out. Wanna help?"

"Sure. How?"

"This thing's called a jammer. Once this baby is up and running there'll be no way Brenda can get her broadcast on the air. Do you have the battery?"

"Yes." Joni gave him the battery.

"That's exactly the one I need!" Santiago put the battery into the jammer. "We need to hurry. I'll work on getting all the pieces wired up if you could work on getting all the connections powered on."

Electronic wasn't Joni's thing, but this puzzle was a piece of cake.

"Great job, Joni. You'll need to connect it to the signal box in Brenda's van. She should be using the standard system, so you'll just need to connect it together. Here, take a look: there are coloured wires with this - just connect the identical colour terminals with a matching colour wire. Be careful not to cross any wires, though, or it'll short out and not turn on."

"Once it's on," Santiago kept explaining, "it'll be blocking the signal but will only last for about 30 minutes before the battery dies. I wish I could make it last longer, but it's the best that I could do right now."

"I really appreciate this, Santiago."

"Go find a way to put it on Brenda's van antenna, but don't let her know it's there. Once it's on you'll have to move quickly. It won't last long. Good luck, Joni!"

***

Joni once again tricked Brenda into leaving her van. She went in and attached the jammer to the signal box as instructed. She matched the colour terminals without crossing any wires and the thing was up and running.

"That's it! The signal is getting jammed. Time to hurry."

A key dropped to the ground. It was marked "5C21B". Joni entered the tunnels and unlocked a door marked “5C21B”. There it is, Brenda’s secret hideout.

Joni found, in a corner of the room, enough bottles of Isopropyl Alcohol to burn down town hall. On a desk she also found a list of different ice cube shapes describing which shape works as the best explosive. And on a chair by the desk Joni found enough evidence in a bag to turn in to Chief McGinnis and prove her innocence.

Just as she grabbed the bag, the door opened and closed behind her. “Brenda?”

“Joni! I didn’t expect you to drop by. Nice move with the jammer, by the way.” Brenda tossed the jammer in her hand aside.

"So THIS is how you got into Town Hall to start the fire, isn't it?"

"If you have to ask, do I need to bother to answer?"

"Why? Why would you do this?"

"You've got the next ten to twenty years to figure that out. I'll give you a hint - if they give you TV privileges behind bars, you'll be seeing a lot of me."

"But why frame ME?"

"If I didn't you'd screw up everything for me, and now you can't. Aha, now here it is." Brenda bent down and grabbed something from the corner of the room. It looked like a tape of some sort. "Take a good look, it may look like a tape, but to you it's the final nail in your coffin. Goodbye, Joni Savage!" And she slammed the door of the hideout and left, locking it behind her.

Joni panicked. "I need to get out of here and stop that witch before she broadcasts whatever's on that tape!"

Joni found a screwdriver by the bottles of Isopropyl Alcohol. She saw another door leading out of the room. She pushed away the stacks of empty boxes blocking the door and used the screwdriver to unhinge the screws of the door, and escaped from the room.

Joni found herself in an underground labyrinth of some sort. She followed the clues in Alexei’s notes. She went through around 20 doors labelled with different shapes and symbols and found her way to a ladder. She climbed the ladder and grabbed a medallion hanging from the last rung. She then exited the tunnels and stepped back into daylight and fresh, open air.

Joni then rushed over to the police station to deliver her evidence to the chief.

The chief took a look into the bag and looked at Joni. “Nice job, Joni Savage. Great ClueFinding work there,” praised Chief McGinnis.


	13. Arsonist Arrested!

From a safe distance in separate police cars, the ClueFinders watched as Brenda went on with her broadcast. As she talked on and on about how Joni had set the town hall on fire, Chief McGinnis stepped out of his car and arrested her. 

"Excuse me, I'm in the middle of a broadcast," Brenda shouted as the chief stepped between her and the camera.

"Brenda Carlton, you're under arrest," the chief said as he put handcuffs on the arsonist.

"No! This isn't happening, you can't do this! Get your hands off of me! You don't wanna mess with me, I've got dirt on all of you. I could ruin every single one of you!" Brenda tried to run away, but she tripped and fell, and the chief caught her.

"That's a risk we'll have to take," the chief said. "Back to you, Jim."

***

"At least Brenda was right about her broadcast making its way to the national news, just not the way she wanted." Joni laughed as she downed a cup of tea the next morning.

"It'll be ten to twenty years before she can even try to make it big in news presenting again," Owen said, munching on a cheese-and-tuna sandwich.

Santiago cleared his throat. "And following up with today's news," he put on his best reporter's voice, "Toni Scallari's name is no longer on the ballot. She is a councilwoman no more, as public support for her has fallen to an all time low."

"Excellent presenting, Santiago!" Leslie played along. "Although it will be a while before we visit Scoop again to fulfill our next ice cream cravings."

"Bummer, like how long do we have to wait?" Owen asked.

"Until, perhaps, when Toni isn't mad at us anymore."

"How about Alexei, you guys?" Laptrap spoke up. "Let's not forget him." 

"Oh, yes. Alexei. He found J.P. Bennington's magnifying glass after all, in the time capsule - it had survived the fire - and has been publically vindicated," Joni explained. "My father is working on formally and legally pardoning him of all wrongdoing."

"Justice at last!" Owen said in between mouthfuls of tuna's to Leslie's disgust.

"I don't think he wants to ever play detective anymore," Santiago put in. "But he seems pretty happy with that."

"And he'll be happy to help us out on any cases we may take on in the future," Joni smiled. 

"How about Deidre?" Leslie asked.

"She's still, like, Classic Deidre," Owen, who had finally finished his sandwich, explained. "She's throwing a post Clues Challenge party and, not surprisingly, none of us were invited."

"Except me," said Santiago. "But not like we'd go anyway. Right, Joni?" He looked at the redhead and winked.

"R-right." Joni blushed and hoped none of her friends noticed. After all that had happened, she just wanted to spend some quality time one-on-one with Santiago……

"So what happens to the Old Town Hall, now that it has been burned to a crisp?" Laptrap queried.

"I heard a museum celebrating the history of River Heights is going to replace it, on the spot," Santiago remarked. "Rumour has it that Alexei may be asked to be head curator."

The ClueFinders all gasped. "That's great news! I'm happy for him."

"How are you feeling, Joni?" Santiago, sweet enough, checked in on her.

"Me? Well, it's just nice to not be public enemy number one anymore."

"The neighbours have repaired your window, I see," Owen said, looking out the window of Joni's living room.

"Yeah. They've even come together to say sorry AND they mean it, especially the guy who threw the rock in in the first place."

"Especially," Laptrap repeated.

"So what are you going to put into the time capsule?" Leslie wondered.

"Yeah, since like, we won the Clues Challenge," Owen beamed. 

"I don't know…… I haven't thought about it yet," Joni scratched her chin. "But if you look around my house, you might find it. It's a very special object worth opening up and looking at 50 years later, I promise."

"So all in all everything's fine now, huh?" Laptrap summarised. "Couldn't have got you out of this spot if we hadn't worked together, am I right?"

"Agreed!" the kids shouted in unison.

"My dad is really proud of me," Joni expressed. "He said all the apologetic gifts the neighbours gave me are not enough."

"Awww, that's sweet," Owen mused.

"S-speaking of sweet, er……" Santiago rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes?" Joni asked.

"W-would you… Do you think we could, er, go grab some food together sometime?" Santiago looked right at Joni, expecting any other reaction than a laugh at how silly he looked and sounded.

“Are you asking me out, Santiago Rivera?” Joni tried to sound coy, but she was burning up inside, too.

"I… just want to talk to you for a second."

"About what?"

"Uhhhh……," he hesitated. "About stuff. Like, alone?"

Owen and Leslie exchanged knowing looks. After reading Joni's secret letter to Santiago they knew what was going to happen. This was their cue to leave the scene. Owen took the initiative. "Yo, Joni. I, er, must have eaten something bad for breakfast," he said. "Can I like, use your bathroom?"

"Me, too," Leslie spoke up.

"You're going to the bathroom WITH him?" Laptrap asked, puzzled.

"Oh, uh, no. I mean, uh, I thought I could go outside to perhaps do some light reading. The morning sun contains Vitamin D which is good for the skin, other than providing optimum lighting conditions."

Joni was baffled by her friends' odd behaviour. "Uh, sure. My bathroom's just down the hall, to the left," she pointed.

"Cool," said Owen. "See you in a bit!" And he dashed down the hall. 

"And we'll see you outside, then," Santiago told Leslie. Leslie gave him and Joni a thumbs-up. "I think you better come with me, too." And before the Turbo T.U.R.T.L.E. could protest, Leslie grabbed him and made her way out of the house.

Now Joni and Santiago were all alone in Joni's living room.

"So what is it that you wanna talk about with me?" the redhead asked.

Santiago put his fingers together and pretended to look thoughtful. "First of all, about our friends. They way they're acting, it's like they know something we don't."

"Yeah, I noticed." Joni beamed her radiant smile at Santiago, making him blush so hard he thought his cheeks were gonna catch fire.

"Secondly, err……," Santiago hesitated a little. But decided heck, it was time she found out anyway, and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to Joni.

Joni took a look at the note. It read:

“Dear Joni,   
Here’s a case for YOU to solve! There’s this cute redheaded girl who has stolen my heart. She has the prettiest sparkling blue eyes, and a smile and a laugh that makes my heart leap out of my chest. She doesn’t know this, but when we’re apart the clocks tick on by with a maddening slowness that just drives me crazy! I can’t wait for the very next moment she breaks outta jail and returns to my side, ready as ever to solve another case with me and my best friends.

I’m sure you’ll solve this one in no time! 

Love, Santiago.”

Joni's eyes welled up with tears. She couldn't believe it - he felt the same way!

"I… wrote that to you a couple of months back," he explained, chest heaving with embarrassment. "I… thought you may like it."

"Santiago. I LOVE it!" Joni sighed. She suddenly felt as if she could be totally vulnerable and open with him, and tell him everything. "Wait here. I have something for you, too." Joni went up to her room, retrieved the note she wrote for him that she had hidden behind his picture, returned downstairs, and gave the note to him.

"W-wow, Joni," Santiago muttered. "What a coincidence that you and I almost wrote the same note to each other."

"A happy little coincidence," Joni said. She swayed from side to side, like a giddy little teenage girl talking to her first crush.

"So… does this make us a thing now?" Santiago suddenly looked at her and asked, feeling, too, that he could be open and vulnerable to her and trust her completely.

Joni's heart was thuddering. "Ummm, sure! Why not? We can be, officially, a 'thing' if you want to. On one condition: that I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."

Santiago laughed. "You're certainly a better thing than Deidre for sure!"

"Oh, right! Deidre! How did it go with her? Y'know, the date that I 'set' you up with her……?"

The inventor merely shrugged. "Meh. She's not my type. She's nothing like you. She isn't as brave and cool and smart and funny and original like you. Plus, it's not like I went out with her for real or anything. I did 'cause I had to get you out of jail, remember?" Santiago playfully prodded Joni in the shoulder.

"Yes, I remember. Thanks," Joni smiled. She looked around her home for a while, then back at her best-friend-turned-boyfriend. "This is the greatest time of my life ever. I got out of jail, I cleared my name, busted the real villain, and then I got myself a boyfriend."

"What a time, huh?" Santiago sweetly pressed Joni's pink flushed cheeks.

They sat on the couch together in silence for a while, then Joni spoke up.

"Hey, what's taking Owen so long in my bathroom?"

"Maybe he has constipation," Santiago shrugged. "Who knows what that guy eats sometimes."

"And I'm guessing Leslie and Laptrap are enjoying the book they're light reading outside? Wait, Laptrap can actually enjoy reading?" she asked sarcastically.

"Last time I checked, Laptrap doesn't have to read. He just scans the pages and saves the text or information for later," Santiago explained.

"That's the way he 'reads', I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So…… you were gonna ask me out for some chow, weren't you?" Joni got back to the main topic of their conversation.

"I was just going to! We can go anywhere but Scoop. I don't think Toni Scallari will want to see us for a while."

"Agreed."

So the couple made their date at a new place. Because what better way to celebrate the good times than to have another good time?

THE END.


End file.
